Blog

And then this happened...

Can't believe this is my first post of 2015! I've had so many intentions to post, and so many topics to post about this year, but that tricky little thing (which is really a BIG thing) called TIME has always got the better of me. A quick update: We moved to our new home in mid-December and have settled in nicely. It has a lot less storage that the place we were renting, so the garage is still loaded with boxes. Both Chop & I had a little bit of time off together over Christmas, which was nice, as it gave us a chance to organise the house a bit. Little Eddie LOVED having full access to both parents for a couple of weeks, and it was a bit of a shock for him when we both went back to work in early January.The big struggle for us at the moment is finding (and being able to afford) available childcare. I've managed to get one day per week arranged at a nearby childcare centre, as our babysitter that was looking after Eddie when we needed her to, is no longer available this year. This is unfortunately a major financial concern to us, because we were so lucky to have a sitter who could mind him for a few hours a day, or the whole day if we needed it. She was fully flexible, and we only had to pay her for the hours we used her for. So Chop and I were managing our lives around Chop's shift work, and I was able to set my roster at work around this - meaning that Chop and I shared most of the childcare between us, and only used our babysitter when absolutely necessary. It was so cost effective, since I only work part-time. Now, as we don't have many options available, we have had to use a more formal childcare arrangement in a centre. This means that we are committing to certain days each week (even if Eddie didn't need to go, like if Chop had a day off mid-week). On the one hand, it will be great for Eddie because he will learn some rules and new social skills in a setting with lots of other children, but on the other hand, we are now paying $130 a day for care that we may only need every now and then. All the other shift workers that Chop works with, have the luxury of being able to rely on their parents to assist with childcare. We don't have any family in this city at all. I am so torn about this. Sometimes it feels like I'm only working just to afford child care. But it's not quite that bad.... It's just a very tight budget that we have to manage right now. Hopefully I'll be able to step up into a full time position again eventually, and then things won't feel so restrictive.

Sat 31 Jan 2015: Daddy with Eddie at the beach watching kite surfers

On another note, Eddie has been growing and learning so much. I had him measured for his 18 month check-up, and he was off the charts in height and weight! In these measurements, he weighed and was taller more than 75% of 2 year old boys already. Slightly worrying. Someone told me that you take their height at 2 years old, and double it, then you'll know how tall they'll be as an adult. Well, our Eddie is on track to becoming a 7 foot adult if that's true! He's already past 50% of Chop's height.The words he now says are: Mum, Dad, Dutch (our cat), cat, DOG (his fave word), car, door, thank-oo, yes, no, not, I'm stuck, it stopped, hello (pronounced hewo), what's that?, gergen (gherkin), cheese. It also sounded like he said "dangerous" a couple of days ago, after I said it in the car - but he probably won't say it again until he's five years old! He understands EVERYTHING, and lately he's becoming a little bit choosy about which instructions he will follow, because sometimes he thinks he has something better to do.So although it is such hard work sometimes being a working Mum, and wondering if I'm making the best decisions for Eddie, while still keeping sane during his crazy tantrums and moods... I'm still so thankful every day that he is in our lives. We have zero social life at the moment, and there's no sign of that changing in the next few years until I can get back to full-time work, but this is a small sacrifice for such a little champion. Today it's 12 years since I said good-bye to my Mum, so having no grandmother in Eddie's life makes me appreciate my role as a mother so much more. I've grown up a lot in the past 12 years since Mum died, and I think I'm only now starting to have some understanding of the sacrifices she made for her three kids. Her life ended way too soon (only 57 years old), and I miss her every day, I hope she is proud of how I'm handling this motherhood thing. It's terrifying and wonderful all at the same time.

Wed 4 Feb 2015: My birthday. Eddie handed me these flowers when I walked in the door after work. So cute! He was so proud.

Related Posts

0
comments

About Me

If you're new to the world of parenthood, or if you want to find some cool family things to do in Melbourne then this blog is for you! Here you will find fun tips, adventures and insights about parenthood.

Hi, my name is Ali. I've overcome infertility and invite you along for the bumpy ride of parenthood. Join me on my mission to make the most of every moment with family!